Day: September 3, 2017

I’m labeling this one July and August because there were no expenses or income in July, and I didn’t want people to think I forgot a month. So with that out of the way, let’s get started.

Spends

I subscribed again to Deposit Photos because I made a decision to write short stories again under a pen name. The goal is to write short fiction in a day and then publish immediately, opening up some time to do it again. I had some leftover images from my last subscription, but they aren’t what I need. So for $1 a photo, I’m signed back up. It’s more expensive than last time, but right now I need to make sure I’m not wasting money. This subscription gets me 10 photos a month, plus more at $1 each, and the unused credits will roll over to the next month as long as I have the subscription. I can do a lot with this no matter what I’m writing, so I did it.

Cover Photos – $10

Monies

I earned a bit of money! Not a lot, mind you, but I sold some e-books at Smashwords and they paid up in August. It feels good to have money coming in from my writing, even if it is a small amount.

It’s also a good reminder that if I’m not publishing, there’s no way I’ll be able to earn any money. I published a couple things at the end of July, but then not again until the end of August. I have had notifications of a few more sales from Smashwords, but I haven’t been paid yet. Hopefully in just a couple of weeks.

E-book Sales – $5

Sums Up

Well, I spent more than I earned. That’s not ideal, but okay.

I’ve earned money in March, June, and August. Since I think all the places that sell my books pay monthly, I’m increasing in frequency and that’s a good thing.

Also, in a category I haven’t thought about reporting, I started selling my most recent short story exclusively with Amazon, getting the book into Kindle Unlimited. I get paid for outright purchases of the book, but I also get paid by how many pages of my books are being read. Since there was a little activity already this month, I may report on that next month as well. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully well.

Yesterday I did lots of laundry and shopped for produce but didn’t actually get much writing done. I would be disappointed, but when I was idling around and watching Wonder Woman I found an absolutely astonishing post about an author’s success from January to August, and how she did it. I was both impressed and insanely motivated.

The problem with posts like that (and I’ve done this before so I’m not talking about Everyone, just Me) is that it’s easy to start believing that it’s exactly what will happen to you. It’s easy to forget that everyone has different situations, and different work ethics, and different time availabilities, and different resources.

So I’m trying to keep firmly in mind that yes, such astounding results (high six figure sales in seven months) is possible, but there are several things different in my situation than the post I read. I did learn lots, though, things I knew but were worded in such a way as to drive them home. That reminds me that I wanted to take notes, so after letting you know about yesterday’s writing, I’m off to do that.

421 fiction words, 586 total words

Then write. I’d like to write a short story today, amidst grocery shopping, etc. I’d like to write it and get it published, actually. I’m intending to do that today and tomorrow actually. Wish me luck.